Family life in Afghanistan is important, and that family is an extended one –including distant cousins, uncles of uncles etc.
For instance, when the relative of an aunt dies – that involves you, even if you live so far away you may have rarely seen them. You would be expected to go to the special prayers, not only at the time of death, but the 40 days after “Fatea” as well.
One of our pharmacy staff recently had to take two lots of holiday off for these two occasions and the road was far and blocked by snow – so there was a lot of walking.
You can imagine my surprise when one day recently three of our ward staff said they had to take time off for the death of a relative, and the relationship was so distant I hadn’t known they were all related!
Time off is supposed to be for close relatives but in this culture that is very different from how we think of it. It is not only death of course that family life impinges, but every occasion of life.
Meet MusaI was shaken this week to discover that an elderly, and very sick man, in the men’s ward was on his own. He had no family and therefore no “carer”, which every patient has with them.
The other carers in the ward were bringing his food from the kitchen and generally helping him. I had never known a patient to be on their own before so looked into this.
I learned that he was homeless and destitute and had spent most of his adult life going from place to place and “hotel” to “hotel” (not what we know of as hotels!). He has no possessions, no change of clothes and he does not even come from this area.
Particularly in this culture this is such a sad story.
As he is so sick I asked the doctor about him and learned that he doesn’t have long to live… ”Who will bury him?” I asked. In this culture the dead person has to be buried within 24 hours by the family. We sent our hospital administrator to the local ‘governor’ to ask, he replied that if there really was no one they would take responsibility for this.
So Musa has come to us for help and we will care for him until the end of his life. I feel so sad for him that after his death strangers will bury him as he has no one.
Please pray for Musa. Although he is old and ill, and yes, dirty and smelly, may our compassion, Jesus’ compassion, working through us, be felt by him at the end of his life.